Geoffrey Stephens (1 October 1934 – 24 December 2020) was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s.
He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British songwriters including Tony Macaulay, John Carter, Roger Greenaway, Peter Callander, Barry Mason, Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley, Don Black, Mitch Murray, and Les Reed.
[1] He also formed The New Vaudeville Band, and their song "Winchester Cathedral" won Stephens the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Recording.
[5] Stephens began his career in amateur theatricals, when he wrote songs and sketches for musical revues presented by his own company, the Four Arts Society, while working as a school teacher, air traffic controller and silk screen printer.
[1][10] With John Carter, Stephens wrote "Semi-Detached Suburban Mr. James" for Manfred Mann[11] and, with Les Reed, "There's a Kind of Hush" for The New Vaudeville Band.
[19] In 1972, his joint composition with Peter Callander of "Daddy Don't You Walk So Fast", was recorded by Wayne Newton.
Other hits that followed included "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" by The New Seekers, which won the Ivor Novello Award in 1974,[1][22] The Drifters' "Like Sister And Brother",[23] Hot Chocolate's "I'll Put You Together Again",[24] Sue and Sunny and Carol Douglas's "Doctor's Orders",[25][26] Crystal Gayle's "It's Like We Never Said Goodbye",[27] and, most successfully of all, the UK 1977 number one hit for David Soul, "Silver Lady".
[28] In 1983, Stephens and Don Black composed the songs for the West End musical Dear Anyone, followed a year later by The Magic Castle with Les Reed.